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DIY laptop repair

newwebsite

Posted 23 April 2008 - 04:03 PM

I need to change the power jack on my dell d600 laptop as its broken.
I've got the board out, and theres about 9 small solder points on the board, looks easy enough if i had the right equipment.

What i want to know is, is it as easy as it looks, can anything go drastically wrong? (there doesnt seem to be an tracks etc in that area of the board) I need a new soldering iron as mine is quite big, but if i bought a cheapish iron with a small tip off ebay, and a solder sucker as well would i be ok?

Is it just a case of heating each point and sucking the solder away as it melts, then repeating for all the points and then just pull it off?
Then i assume it would be a case of re-heating the points, push through a cocktail stick etc to open up the holes, push the new jack in, and put a dab of solder on the back of each leg.

Is that all there is to it or am i missing something/is it harder than that??!! Also will any solder do or does it have to be a specific type?

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Neil Jones

Posted 23 April 2008 - 04:49 PM

Neil Jones

Member 5k

Member

8,476 posts

Don't take this the wrong way but do you really know what you're doing?
If you did then you would know the answer to your question.

With any electrical device, there is always the potential for it to go wrong in the wrong hands. Laptops are basically not meant to be user-repairable. Plus very rarely with electronics, nothing is as easy as it looks. If in doubt, don't do anything.

But if you must go ahead, you should be able to Google a service/repair manual for that laptop which may provide you with extra help.

newwebsite

Posted 24 April 2008 - 10:20 AM

newwebsite

Member

Topic Starter

Member

19 posts

Yes I do, my question is really is there are fragile mb tracks etc under the power socket, and will it just pull of from heating the points.
Also will i need an excessive amount of heat to remove the plug, or does it need a really low heat in order to remove it without harming anything.

A service manual isnt going to answer my questions, and they are pretty simple ones to somebody who's done it before.

I know how to solder and im not stupid, im just making sure before i start.